Top 10 Best Zeiss Lenses 2019 – Buyer’s Guide And Reviews

November 30, 2018 By Eric Han

Are you tired of having an average looking photo? One of the easiest ways to enhance the quality of your picture is by having a great lens. There are a plethora of companies offering lenses for your camera. Unfortunately, not all of these lenses provide better results. Carl Zeiss offers premium quality best zeiss lenses.it is the leading company in the optics industry for more than 100 years and their commitment to excellence has made them a top choice for many photographers.

The reason for the popularity of their lenses is that they are powerful and well-constructed. They are capable of providing higher contrast and color rendition. They produce an extensive collection of lenses, from medium lenses to large lenses. The best Zeiss lenses are compatible with wide range of cameras. Zeiss has partnered with Sony for providing SLR lens. Moreover, they offer manual focus lenses for Pentax, Nikon, and Canon.

In this article, we have listed the things that you need to consider when buying the best Zeiss lenses. Here are the top best Zeiss lenses that you should take a look before moving to the buyer’s guide.

One of the best Zeiss lenses that you should invest for having impressive photos is the Zeiss Loxia 25mm F/2.4 lens. This lens is an ideal pick for the photographers of all levels. The design of the Loxia lens is similar to the other Loxia lenses. It has a weather-sealed and metal body that makes it perfect for using it in harsh conditions.

This lens is compatible with Sony E-Mount mirrorless cameras. It is a compact lens that features a Distagon optical mechanism. This is useful for delivering distortion-free and sharp images. The optical design consists of an aspherical lens and 2 anomalous partial dispersion elements. It is able to reduce the chromatic aberrations and enhances the color precision. This will help in producing clear and stable pictures.

Moreover, the Zeiss T* anti-reflective coating is applied to all the elements. It is helpful for reducing the ghosting and flare of the lens. The lens comes with a manual focus ring that is designed to be used with electronic viewfinders. It can work with the aperture ring as well that can be declicked manually to provide noiseless operation.

What makes this lens stand out from the rest is its wide angle lens. This delivers exceptional image performance for the full-frame sensors. It offers you everything you need to produce a quality footage. The DeClick is an amazing feature that provides constant aperture adjustment for providing steady pictures in low light conditions.

Zeiss Loxia 25mm F/2.4 lens has a metal barrel that features fixed depth of field scales and focusing. This makes it easy to use and enhances user experience. The lens has a focus throw of 90 degrees that will make it easy to control your composition.

If you want to buy a lens that offers complete value for money, Zeiss Loxia 25mm F/2.4 lens is the right choice. This lens is great for street, architecture, and landscape photographers. So, invest in the best Zeiss lenses for recording striking and detailed videos or pictures.

Additional Accessory

AliExpress offers an amazing accessory to have completely clean lens. With the help of this lens cleaning kit, you can get rid of the dust and dirt particles that decrease the quality of the shots. It is provided at reasonable rates.

For Sony E mount mirrorless camera users, Zeiss Loxia 21mm F2.8 lens is a perfect choice. It is a wide-angle lens using Distagon optical mechanism. This helps in reducing the distortion and continuously brighten and sharpen the pictures.

The best Zeiss lenses feature 1 aspherical elements and 4 anomalous partial dispersion elements that help in managing the chromatic aberrations. This is useful for enhancing color precision and clarity. The Zeiss T* anti-reflective coating is great for decreasing the ghosting and lens flare for providing better contrast.

This lens comes with an accurate manual focus that will enable you to adjust the focus according to your needs. It has a large rotation angle that makes focusing hassle-free and the adjustments in the focus are displayed instantly. This focus system moves smoothly thanks to the depth of focus. The accurate engraving in the feet and meter is useful in offering extra support and makes manual focus easy.

Zeiss Loxia 21mm f/2.8 lens has an electronic interface that will transfer all the EXIF data of the lens to the camera. You can even set the focus magnification to automatically activate when the focus ring is turned.

A special feature of the best Zeiss lenses is DeClick. It allows you to declick the locking system of the aperture with the help of a tool and adjustment screw. This will enable you to remove the differences in the brightness when recording video. Thanks to this mechanism, you can have a noiseless and smooth rotational angle.

Moreover, the best Zeiss lenses are popular because of the premium quality metal casing. This lens has metal-casing along with aperture rings and grippy focus that is manufactured using metal. With the help of the filter screw and front bayonet, you can achieve incredible quality pictures.

The sealing ring on the bayonet is great for keeping the interface between the lens and camera safe. The Zeiss Loxia 21mm F2.8 lens has a weather-resistant gasket that helps in preventing moisture and dust from damaging the interface.

Whether you are into architecture photograph or into street photography, you need Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 lens for capturing stunning photos. This is a versatile wide-angle lens that has Distagon optical concept. It is an ideal choice for full-frame format Sony E Mount cameras.

This lens is perfect to be used in harsh conditions because it has weatherproof and dust resistant build. It is a durable and sturdy lens that can last for a long time. What makes this lens so special is its smooth and precise autofocus. It comes with a linear autofocus motor that offers accurate and durable performance with impressive image quality.

Another great feature of the best Zeiss lens is that it provides an amazing resolution and great contrast. If you want to create striking pictures, your image must be vivid and highly saturated. The stray light will lighten your image that will decrease the contrast. Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 lens is perfect for eliminating the impact of the stray light.

Furthermore, the distinctive feature of this lens is its integrated OLED display. This is a great feature that will enable you to know the depth of field and focus distance. It is useful for photographers who work in low light conditions. This is because it will help you determine your focus parameters.

Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 lens is a powerful full-frame lens that is compact in size. Despite being small, it exceeds the expectations of the expert photographers. The lens has 4 double-sided aspherical elements along with floating elements. This is great for eliminating the distortions and aberrations. It is capable of providing sharpness and illuminated picture.

Therefore,Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 lens is the perfect choice for street and travel photographers as it lightweight and high-performing lens.

One of the best Zeiss lens is the Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 lens. This is a mid-length telephoto lens that is designed for Sony E mount and full-frame mirrorless camera. The lens has an apochromatic Sonnar optical design that helps in eradicating aberrations.

It is also capable of color fringing and providing clarity to your images. With the help of the Zeiss T* anti-reflective coating, you can get decreased ghosting and lens flare.

Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 lens comes with a linear autofocus that provides you noiseless, accurate, and quick focusing performance. A distinctive feature of the lens is the excellent optical image stabilization. It is good for reducing the camera shakiness for sharp and precise handheld recording.

Moreover, the lens can be used in a wide range of conditions as it has a weather-sealed body. The lens is developed to last for a long time. It has a robust and weatherproof body that will keep it safe from all elements. This makes it the perfect choice for outdoor environments.

In addition to this, the lens has an intuitive OLED display that shows the focus distance and the depth of field. It is a great way to know about the focus distance in low light conditions.

Thus, this lens is among the best Zeiss lenses that offer exceptional imaging performance.

The best Zeiss lenses have a huge field angle and super-fast autofocus that will enable you to take impressive pictures from new perspectives. This Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 lens is a wide-angle lens that produces striking image quality in the corners.It makes the lens a great choice for astro and landscape photography as it overcomes the difficulties of these photography styles. This lens has a maximum aperture of f/2.8 that makes it capable enough to perform well in low-light conditions.

These lenses are specifically made for full-frame cameras by Sony and are compatible with E mount as well. This is able to provide quick, silent, and precise autofocus, thanks to the linear autofocus motor. The lens features an integrated OLED display that will show you the distance focus and the depth of field. It helps in making sure the range of focus is correctly set.

Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 lens comes with the amazing Distagon optical concept that includes the floating elements. This is useful for making the pictures bright and sharp. Along with this, the lens has special glass elements and aspherical elements that will eliminate both aberrations, chromatic and spherical. With the help of this concept, you can have a consistent image quality.

Thanks to the Zeiss T* anti-reflecting coating, the flare and ghosting are reduced. It is also helpful for enhancing color fidelity and contrast. This lens has a weather-sealed construction that makes it great to be used in all kinds of environments.

This lens is designed to improve the contrast and resolution of the images. The stray light results in reducing the quality of the image by lightening it. It decreases the contrast and the image appears to be faded. The Batis lens is the best Zeiss lenses that eliminate the impact of stray light. Hence, it improves the quality of the picture you capture.

If you want to capture landscapes or architecture photos, Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 lens is the best choice. This lens provides versatility, brilliant construction, and excellent image quality.

Another great lens that you can invest in is the Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 lens for Sony E mount. This is a portrait to short telephoto lens that offers great imaging performance. The maximum aperture of the lens is f/1.8 that provides improved recording in low light conditions and better-focused control.

The lens features a unique Optical image stabilizer that provides you steady, stable and clear pictures. You can capture outstanding pictures without any digital noise. This is because there will be no need to increase the ISO values for countering low light conditions. It is also helpful in reducing the camera shake, especially when operating at slower shutter speeds.

This lens has wonderful linear autofocus motor that is able to provide fast, silent, and smooth performance. It will help you produce photos with the highest level of clarity. The lens has a rubberized ring for manual focusing that will enable you to have accurate focus placement.

Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 lens features a Sonnar optical design that has the floating elements for controlling the aberrations and distortions in the pictures. For enhancing the image quality, an anti-reflective coating is a great feature. This helps in suppressing the lens flare and ghosting. Additionally, it is useful for providing color rendition and better contrast.

Moreover, the lens has an intuitive OLED screen that will show you the depth of field and focus distance. This is a great way to determine the focus parameters that you are using. It is helpful in low light areas as you will be able to know the focus distance.

A great thing about this lens its weather-sealed construction that makes it suitable for all types of environments. The lens is splash-proof that enables it to be used near water. It is dustproof that will prevent dust from blurring the image, making it ideal for outdoor use.

If you are in search of the best Zeiss lenses, the Zeiss Milvus 18mm f/2.8 ZF.2 lens is the right option. This is a wide, bright, and flexible lens for Nikon F mount cameras(FX Format).

It uses a Distagon optical design that consists of 4 anomalous partial dispersion elements and a pair of aspherical elements. These elements are useful for correcting chromatic aberrations and improving color fringing. This makes the lens capable of delivering the clear, bright, and crisp image.

With the help of the floating elements system, you can achieve continuous performance. In order to improve the image quality, the lens has an anti-reflective coating that is applied to the front elements. This will is useful for suppressing the ghosting and flare of the lens.

Additionally, the edges of the lens have a distinctive pitch black lacquer. This helps in preventing the reflections. All the focal lengths have their own optical design with the glass showing anomalous partial dispersion. This is good for reducing the color fringing and producing brilliant pictures.

Zeiss Milvus 18mm f/2.8 ZF.2 lens has a rubberized ring for manual focus. It helps in having fine-tuned and accurate control of the position of your subject. Moreover, the lens features a unique function “DeClick”. You can manually declick the lens for having noiseless operations. The changes in the focal plane are instantly visible on the viewfinder. Thanks to the engraving in feet and meters, you can have an extra support for focusing.

What makes this lens stand out from the rest is its ergonomic design that decreases the shakiness of the camera. The accurate and dynamic barrel design will make sure you have an exceptional experience. This lens has a weatherproof body that will enable you to use it in harsh conditions.

Hence, this is one of the best Zeiss lenses that will enable you to have a fatigue-free photography experience.

At AliExpress, you can get the same lens with a minor difference. The weight and features of the lens are slightly different. There is a minute distinction between the price. Nonetheless, you can decide the lens based on your preference.

One of the best Zeiss lenses is the Zeiss Milvus 21mm f/2.8 ZF.2 lens. This is an ideal wide-angle for Nikon users. It features a Distagon optical design that is useful for managing the distortion. This helps in delivering a clear and sharp image.

Furthermore, the lens has floating elements that help in constant performance. The 4 anomalous partial dispersion elements are great for controlling the aberrations. As a result, it produces a picture with sharpness and clarity.

The amazing Zeiss T* anti-reflective coating is applied for reducing ghosting and flare. This enables the lens to work perfectly in low light environments while delivering color neutral photos. It has manual focus design that provides you an accurate control over focus position. The Zeiss Milvus 21mm f/2.8 ZF.2 lens has a manual aperture ring that can be declicked for noiseless function.

This lens has a unique wide-angle perspective that is paired with a focusing distance of 8.7”. This is great for focusing on the foreground subjects and provides a sense of space. The lens has a manual focus and depth of field and focusing scales that makes it easy to have better focus.

Zeiss Milvus 21mm f/2.8 ZF.2 lens has a metal barrel with the anodized and frosted surface. The rubberized ring is great for enhancing the tactile control and durability. A great feature of the lens is that it has a weather resistant construction that consists of seal that will prevent moisture and dust.

Thus, this is among the best Zeiss lenses that provide excellent optics with reduced distortion in a robust design.

Original Accessories

√ Wide-angle field of view√ Robust and sturdy build√ Resistant to dust and splash

⊗ Manual focus is a little difficult to handle

Similar Products

You can find the same lens as Zeiss Milvus 21mm at AliExpress. This lens is light in weight and there is a slight distinction in the features. When it comes to performance, it is much the same. You must choose the lens that is best suited for your requirements.

Whether you are a beginner or a professional, the ZEISS Planar T* 50mm F/1.4 ZF.2 Lens is an ideal choice for Nikon users. This is a classic lens that is famous among the photographers. It has an all-metal mount that is capable of providing exceptional image performance and excellent functionality.

This lens is a compact and bright lens that offers manual focusing. It comes with a rotation angle for more accurate focus control. This lens is developed for both medium and long distances. It will reduce the flare ghosting, thanks to its construction. As a result, the lens is capable of producing fantastic photos with amazing color precision and contrast.

In addition to this, the lens has a high speed that enables you to capture striking and fabulous photos in all kinds of environments. It has a maximum aperture of f/1.4 that results in wonderful pictures in less light areas.

The special feature of this lens is its compactness and quick aperture. It is a lightweight lens that you can take with you anywhere without any difficulty. Moreover, this lens features an electronic interface that is capable of supporting all kinds of operating functions. You will no longer need to adjust the settings because the lens will convey the standard settings, such as speed, aperture, and focal length to the camera.

ZEISS Planar T* 50mm F/1.4 ZF.2 Lens provides outstanding image quality, reliability, and performance. This lens has an advanced system that reduces the flare to offer bright and crisp pictures. It is capable of correcting the distortion to ensure you have a defined accuracy. This makes it perfect for photographing architecture and products.

The build of the lens is durable and sturdy as it has all metal mounts. It is manufactured using quality materials that makes it capable to last for a decade. This lens has an easy to grip metal focus, sturdy bayonet, and excellent aperture ring will ensure you have a photographic experience.

A popular choice for photographers is the Zeiss Planar T* 85mm f/1.4 ZE lens. A great feature of this lens is its planar design. The lens is developed to be anastigmatic as it has a symmetrical design. It makes the lens perfect for portrait photography.

This is a high-speed telephoto lens that provides a clear and bright image. It is capable of producing brilliant quality pictures. This Zeiss lens has an all-metal mount that will provide you with exceptional functionality and fantastic image quality.

One of the best features of this lens is its manual focus. It enables you to adjust the focus from your fingertips. The lens has a large rotation angle that allows you to have accurate focus. You can view the alteration in the viewfinder immediately. The scale of meter and feet and the depth of field is engraved on the lens for making it hassle-free to have better focus.

Another great thing about this lens is its special coating. The optical elements of the best Zeiss lenses come with Zeiss T* anti-reflective coating that will ensure high performance at all times. This feature is great as it enables you to capture footage with clarity and impressive quality, irrespective of the lighting condition. It is also capable of reducing the flare and ghosting of the lens.

Furthermore,Zeiss Planar T* 85mm f/1.4 ZE lens is able to provide an outstanding and smooth bokeh. It focuses on the subject and makes the backdrop blur to create an additional focus on the subject. Thanks to the 9-blade diaphragm and round aperture, it can produce excellent color precision in the foreground and background.

This lens is capable of delivering stunning and breathtaking images. Along with this, it offers the highest level of performance and durability. As mentioned above, the best Zeiss lenses are designed to suppress the flare of the lens. It will help in producing pictures that will offer vivid and clear photos. It has the ability to correct distortion, so you can have images with precise accuracy.

Similar Products

AliExpress provides a unique opportunity to get the same lens as Zeiss Planar T* for Canon. There is a difference between the features of the lenses. Though the performance of the lens is the same, there is a minute difference between the image quality. The final decision is dependent on your choice.

Buyer’s Guide For Best Zeiss Lenses

Are you in search of the best Zeiss lenses? The picture you capture is directly dependent on the lens of your camera. There are numerous types of lenses available on the market that makes choosing one a dreadful task. So, when it is time to get a lens for your camera, how do you select the right one for your needs? We created a buyer’s guide to make it easy for you to choose the perfect lens for your requirements.

There are various things that you need to think about, like durability, distortion, focus speed, and sharpness. These things are crucial for helping you make an informed decision. However, there are other factors that you need to consider. Have a look at the other things that you need to focus on when buying the best Zeiss lenses.

What Kind of Lens Do You Need?

One of the first things that you need to consider is the type of lens you need. The most common types of lenses include telephoto lenses, normal lenses, and wide angle lenses. There are 2 kinds of special types of lenses fisheye lenses and macro lenses.

1.Telephoto Lens– this type of lens is great for capturing special kind of pictures. It is a good choice for taking long shots; nonetheless, this lens can even be used for portrait photography. The lenses with focal length from 85 to 100mm are known as portrait lenses. This is because they can help in removing distortion in short range shots and provides a natural effect to the photos. If you like to take bokeh shots, this is a perfect choice as is has a small depth of field.

2.Wide Angle Lens– Another type of the lens that is most commonly used is wide angle lens. This type of the lens enables you to capture wide-angle shots providing a broad field of view. These lenses also provide a greater depth of field, making it easy to focus on the subject.

3.Normal Lens– this lens produces an image that is similar to what you see with your eyes. These are referred to as standard lenses that have a focal length of 50mm.

4.Macro Lens– A special kind of telephoto lens is a macro lens that is designed to provide a better-focused picture. This is possible because they have the capability to focus on tiny objects. This type of lens is ideal for taking close-up and take pictures of small objects.

5.Fisheye Lens– the lenses that have short focal length, they are categorized as fisheye lens. These lenses are able to gather plenty of information in the image. This will not distort the pictures and is capable of delivering an effect that we see in movies.

Compatibility of the Camera

For buying the best Zeiss lenses, you need to pay attention to the compatibility of your camera. Mostly, the lenses are developed to work with full-frame or APS-C sensor cameras. There are some lenses that can be used on both types of cameras. However, the focal length offered by the lens varies.

Moreover, not all the lenses are compatible with every camera brand. For instance, the full frame cameras by Nikon are compatible with small APS-C sensor cameras. On the other hand, Canon’s full-frame model does not accept Canon’s other camera.

Maximum Aperture

Another factor you need to consider is the aperture of the lens. When you are checking the specs of the lens, you can see an f-number of the lens. In case, it is a zoom lens, there will be two f numbers. This is the maximum aperture of the camera. In simple words, it refers to the speed of the lens.

The lower f-number means the aperture is wide, it will let more light pass through the lens. It indicates that you will have lower ISO and the speed of the shutter will be fast. The lower f-number is good for improving the quality of the lens.

Choosing Between Variable Or Constant Maximum Aperture

The lenses that have one focal length features just the maximum aperture. This is because it can be used at the fixed focal length. Such type of lenses is known as prime lenses. On the other hand, the zoom lenses can change the focal lengths and may have a various maximum aperture.

You will not be able to use the same focal length in different lenses. This is called variable maximum aperture. Another maximum aperture is the constant maximum aperture. In this, the aperture will stay the same; it is easily available in expensive models.

Wondering how you can check the aperture is variable or constant? It is easy, all you have to do is see what’s written after the focal length. If there are two figures, this indicates that it is variable. While a single figure means the length is constant.

Special Elements and Lens Coating

Most of the producers have special lens coating in order to enhance the quality of the image. Every manufacturer offers different coatings for their standard lenses and advanced lenses. If there are no special elements or coating, it doesn’t indicate the lens is not great. The lenses with coatings indicate the producers pay special care to the needs of their customers.

Many lenses have low-dispersion and aspherical elements that are good for using minimizing the aberrations. Some of the advanced lenses come with fluorite. It can help in reducing the weight and sizes of the lenses along with eliminating chromatic aberrations.

Manual Focus Ring

In recent times, many photographers are dependent on autofocus so much they hardly use manual focus. In case you like to focus manually, you should pay attention to the manual focus ring. However, not all the lenses are made the same. There are some lenses that are not don’t have the focus ring. With the help of the manual focus ring, you can easily focus on the subject. It is a great choice for photographers who capture macro or landscape photos.

Final Words

All in all, when choosing your lens, you need to keep these factors in your mind. You should start by determining the pictures you will be taking and the lighting environment you will be working in. This will help you narrow down your list of favorite lenses.

Furthermore, you can check the technical specs, read reviews, and focus on your budget to choose the most suitable lens. Make an informed decision with the help of these tips and get the best Zeiss lenses. Go out and buy the Zeiss lens to get ready to shoot striking and impressive images.